Compensation fraudster's free ride comes to an end

Abid Khan, 37, was sentenced in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 5 March after pleading guilty to one charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one charge of fraudulently obtaining payments.

He was convicted and placed on an 18-month Community Correction Order.

The court heard Khan suffered a shoulder injury while working as a car park cleaner and sweeper operator in January 2017 and later had a claim for workers compensation accepted.

In January 2023, an investigation found that since September 2020 Khan had earned more than $81,000 as a rideshare driver while also receiving $125,939 in weekly compensation and superannuation payments.

During this time, Khan provided medical certificates stating that he had no capacity for work and failed to inform either his GP or WorkSafe agent that he was working. He also turned down suggestions of a job as a rideshare driver on the basis that ongoing arm pain prevented him from driving longer than 10 minutes.

Return to Work Victoria Executive Director Jason Lardelli said it was disappointing to see such a deliberate and protracted effort to defraud the workers compensation scheme.

"We are fortunate to have a system here in Victoria that gives workers the support they need, when they need it most, in their recovery and return to work, and so it's absolutely upsetting when we see cases where people are deliberately doing the wrong thing," Mr Lardelli said.

"We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to uphold the integrity of the scheme and ensure those who knowingly attempt to defraud the system are found and held to public account."